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The alarm starts blaring in Jisung’s ear.
He groans loudly, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries to bury his face in his pillow to quiet it. The alarm just keeps blaring. He reaches his hand out and gropes around for it blindly, his eyebrows furrowing together some when it feels like he’s grasping at… the ground? Jisung groans out again as he slowly pushes himself up, his hand finally curling around his phone. It feels odd—there’s something between his fingers and he vaguely remembers that he doesn’t have any kind of case on his phone like that. He also manages to register that his knees are aching and whatever he’s sitting up on is most definitely not his mattress.
Jisung’s eyes fly open. As they flick around the room he’s in, he realizes—he is not inside his own bedroom. Looking to his left, he can make out that the door of the place is barely thirty feet away from him—meaning he is definitely not inside of his own home, either. He reaches up and rubs at his eyes with the palms of his hands, blinking many times, trying to see if he can somehow just blink the place away. It doesn’t work.
Even after he finishes, he’s still at this place. And he has no idea where this even is. All he knows is that he’s no longer in his nice, comfortable home in Sunyshore City anymore.
“What in the ever loving Arceus…” Jisung mumbles to himself, finally pulling his phone up to take a look at it.
There’s something covering his phone. It’s white and gold with green accents, and the longer Jisung stares at it, the more the shape of it starts to slowly register in his brain about what it resembles. He screams, dropping the phone as he suddenly shoots up to be standing, staring down at it with very wide eyes.
“What the hell happened to my phone?!” Jisung gasps loudly when his phone suddenly starts to float, and he’s pretty sure he must be hallucinating right now. “No way. No way this is happening.”
Brr-p. The phone makes a beeping noise. Its screen lights up and Jisung watches it as it starts talking to him.
I have chosen you, young Jisung.
“Uh…” Jisung blinks owlishly. “I… um—thank you? But… but why?”
Must I need a reason?
“I think a reason would be preferable, yes.”
I am Arceus. I do not need a “reason” for choosing to do things.
“Oh, okay,” Jisung goes quiet, staring at the phone, before he screams again. “Wait—what?! You’re Arceus?! In my phone?”
Yes. I am here to help you and lead you.
“Is this necessary…” Jisung’s body deflates, but he’s started into a full standing position again when there’s sudden pounding on the door of the house that he’s in. It’s loud, persistent, and Jisung thinks he might be in trouble now.
“Who’s in there? Answer me! Open this door right now!” Someone is yelling at him through the door, and Jisung feels terrified of them right now.
Jisung swallows hard as he snatches the phone from the air and shoves it into his shorts pocket, hurriedly running over to the door and opening it up. He comes face-to-face with someone shorter than him—which isn’t hard to be, as Jisung is over six foot tall despite barely being eighteen years old—with sunset orange hair. They look angry, though, and Jisung already feels apologetic and sheepish, despite the fact that he has no idea what’s going on and whether he’s done anything wrong or not.
“Hi, um, I’m—”
“What are you doing in here?” They immediately demand, glaring up at Jisung relentlessly.
Jisung gulps hard, biting down on his lower lip. “Um, well—look, I don’t really know how I got here or really where I am right now, so if you could please just… not… yell at me? That would be very nice?”
Whoever this person is doesn’t seem to be very affected by Jisung’s predicament. They just keep glaring at him, and Jisung feels so small under their gaze. “You’re not supposed to be here. This barrack is meant to be empty.”
“I understand that, but—”
“You’re coming with me.” The person reaches up and grabs onto Jisung’s ear, tugging on it hard as they start pulling him out of the home. Jisung yelps in pain, making sure to dodge down enough so that he doesn’t end up hitting his head against the top of the doorway as he’s literally dragged out of the barrack by this mysterious person.
Well, Jisung thinks to himself, staring up at the soft blue sky, There are worse ways to die, at least…
The person’s name is Haechan, and they work for the Galactic Survey Corps. It’s very strange to hear that name be used for something about Pokemon research, all things considered back in the Sinnoh that Jisung knows and lives in—Team Galactic is responsible for a lot of terrible things, like almost breaking the space-time continuum because their leader decided he wanted to literally erase the world and make an entirely new one in his own image. (Which, this Galactic’s leader also looks so suspiciously like the Team Galactic’s leader back in present-day Sinnoh, as well. It’s uncanny and unnerving to Jisung. He can’t look the man in the eye at all.)
Jisung has no idea what he’s gotten himself into, except now that he’s got on the Survey Corps uniform, an extremely old version of a Pokedex in his hands, and his strange Arceus-possessed phone in his back pocket. He sticks out like a sore thumb amongst all of these people in their village—and it is very much a village. It’s not even a quarter of the size of Sunyshore, which is so strange to Jisung. He’s so used to seeing just how big the cities of Sinnoh are, that it had never occurred to him that they all started out so small in the very beginning of things.
It’s odd and Jisung doesn’t really know what to do with himself. He’s been tasked by their leader—Captain Doyoung—to go out and help Professor Kun with his Pokemon research. The Pokeballs they use are insanely outdated, and getting used to them is so hard. They’re so large and clunky and they don’t shrink down like the Pokeballs Jisung is used to. Thankfully, Professor Kun had been kind enough to give Jisung his own Pokemon, as well, but—none of the starters he had were the regular Starter Pokemon that Jisung knows Professor Rowan of PDS (Present Day Sinnoh) to give out to new trainers. His first very own Pokemon had been a Chimchar. This time, the Pokemon that he chose is one called Rowlet.
It’s small, round, and cute. Jisung likes it a lot. He’s been calling it ‘Rowlie’ since he got it.
Haechan, though, does not seem very amused or happy about any of this. He keeps glowering at Jisung whenever they meet, as Jisung is shown around the village and introduced to people as the newest recruit of the Survey Corps. The villagers are nice enough, at least, but even so, Jisung feels so immensely out of place—because he is out of place being here.
Jisung’s first task? Helping out a member of the Diamond Clan—one of Hisui’s other “major” peoples—in calming down something called an “Alpha Pokemon.”
If Jisung thought that going out into the wild grass and areas of Sinnoh in PDS was scary at first, then little eleven-year-old Jisung would absolutely die if he saw just how terrifying the actual wilderness of Pokemon is when the land is rarely cultivated and there’s no civilization around for ages upon ages. The only rest stops are small campsite areas, and even then, Pokemon are still viable to attack them there if they aren’t the friendly types.
And don’t even get Jisung started on the Alpha Pokemon.
He sees one, while he’s traveling to the point to meet Jeno, the Diamond Clan member. It’s huge and Jisung understands now why the villagers are too scared to go out on their own. Especially if they don’t know or understand how Pokemon think and work. Even now, with as much knowledge as Jisung has with Pokemon—having completed his entire Pokedex in PDS—it’s a very big challenge to suddenly be thrust into a time period where the Pokemon act and think so much differently than they do in PDS. Jisung’s not sure if he should be fascinated or terrified to the core, honestly.
“You know,” Jisung suddenly speaks, out into nothing, since it’s just himself and Rowlie. “It’d sure be nice if someone told me what I’m doing here, exactly.”
His phone makes that ‘brr-p’ noise from before, as it controls itself and pulls itself out of his back pocket. It floats up in front of Jisung’s face, the screen lighting up.
You are here because I want you to be here.
“That… does not explain a single thing. What, do you just—pick random people to isekai back into the olden days of Sinnoh for the fun of it?”
The phone is silent. Jisung stares at it.
“Oh my Arceus. That’s exactly what you do. What the hell. You’re literally the God Pokemon and yet—”
I could very easily have taken you to a time where there is no civilization. I would do well to remember that if I were you.
“Right,” Jisung gulps quietly, before he sighs. “Well… I guess it doesn’t matter that much. Hey, do you function as an actual phone? Or are you just useful for me to check maps and teleport around to places?”
I cannot send messages or call, if that is what you are curious about.
“That’s what I thought,” He sighs again to himself as he runs a hand over his face. “So am I just… here? Forever? Or can you just fling me back to the present day whenever you feel like it?”
Whether I can or cannot should not be your question. I would ask yourself: do you want me to send you back or not?
Jisung furrows his eyebrows some. Of course he wants Arceus to send him back to PDS—why wouldn’t he? He’s got friends, even if they might live all over the world from one another. (Which, thinking about them now, a lot of them seem to look so oddly familiar to some of the people who are living here in Hisui. It’s… Everything is just strange and Jisung’s not too sure if he’ll be able to get used to all of this or not. He really hopes so, because it’ll be even more of a struggle to continue to live here if he can’t get used to the society, communities, and the way of life that’s expected of people within this time period. It’s a good thing that Jisung is pretty great at getting the hang of things quickly, and pretending that he knows just what he’s doing, even when he doesn’t.
The loud crunch of a nearby branch shakes Jisung out of his thoughts. He immediately crouches down, grabbing his Pokeball that holds Rowlie, in his ready stance to battle—only to realize that the crunch came from a wild Starly.
These Pokemon aren’t entirely hostile, Jisung’s come to notice. They run away from people, if anything, and Jisung is a little thankful for that. He also understands why they run away, because if Jisung were a Pokemon, he’d honestly run away from humans, too. They can be scary and pretty awful, so he gets it. Wild Pokemon have two responses: fight or flight, and they usually tend to pick one over the other.
This Starly approaches him, though, leaning in and seemingly sniffing at him with its beak. It pecks at the edge of his pants, making him laugh quietly. “Hey, buddy, c’mon—there’s nothing in there for you.” The Starly crows softly, before it pecks at him again. Jisung hesitates, before he reaches his hand down and gently pets the top of the Starly’s head. That works in getting it to stop pecking him, and it immediately nuzzles itself into Jisung’s palm.
Huh. Well, it looks like Jisung’s gained a new friend already.
The more the merrier, as they say, especially in this brutal outside world.
Fighting an Alpha Pokemon is scarier than Jisung originally thought it would be—and it’s just as hard as he thought it would be. Even with his team as buffed up as they are, they had struggled in getting the Alpha Kricketune to calm down enough to stop raging. He gets it done, well enough, and Jeno thanks him for aiding them in getting the Kricketune to go back to normal. It’s such a good job, apparently, that there’s some kind of special Pokemon that takes an interest in him.
Jisung doesn’t let his face twist up in too much confusion, but Jeno must sense it—or see it—in his eyes when he hands the corps member the flute. “This is the Celestica Flute. It can summon the Noble Pokemon for you—for whenever you might need them to help you out and whatnot.”
“I never want to fight these things again,” Jisung mumbles to himself, letting the flute settle into his hands. It’s so small in his hands, delicate looking and fragile. Jisung doesn’t know why he’s being trusted with this little thing. He’s probably going to just end up breaking it by accident without meaning to.
“You’re going to have to deal with much tougher Alpha Pokemon than a Kricketune,” Haechan says to him, looking up at Jisung with a rather unimpressed face. Jisung doesn’t entirely blame him for giving him that look. Jisung wouldn’t be too impressed with himself, either.
“You should come and visit the Diamond Clan someday soon!” Jeno says, grinning at Jisung brightly. He doesn’t really have the heart to tell Jeno no, so he simply agrees, nodding his head and giving a half-smile back. Jeno takes that answer for what it is, grinning wider as he smacks Jisung on the back. Ow.
Jisung stares at the flute before he gives it a try. Breathing in deeply as he blows into it, following the tune that Jeno had showed him. The melody is lovely—it’s simple and soft and when Jisung opens his eyes, he jerks back in reaction at the Pokemon suddenly in front of him. It looks… weird. It almost looks just like a Stantler, Jisung has one back in PDS, but this one is—much bigger, with white fur and a giant white beard, and its antlers are way bigger than a Stantler’s.
“This is Wyrdeer,” Jeno says, approaching the Pokemon’s side. This Pokemon—Wyrdeer, as Jeno seems to call it—leans itself down next to Jeno with ease. It closes its eyes as Jeno reaches up to rub its head between its antlers. Jisung watches in awe, especially because Wyrdeer seems to be so much bigger than any human here. Jisung is very much used to it, with loads of other Pokemon, but he didn’t think a Stantler of any form could possibly reach such a size.
“Wow…” Jisung is in genuine awe. He always is whenever he meets new Pokemon, and this Pokemon—and many of the others around, it seems, are ones that he’s never even seen before, and it’s all so new to him. It’s amazing. “Um, hi, hello there, mister Wyrdeer. Thank you for wanting to assist me.”
Wyrdeer doesn’t do much. It merely dips its head towards Jisung, nudges Jeno with its antler, and then takes off—it leaps and bounds up the rocks like it’s nothing, until it stands, mighty and tall, on the edge of a group of rocks. Wyrdeer disappears moments later, leaving Jisung rather breathless. If meeting the other Noble Pokemon is anything like this, then Jisung can’t wait to meet the other ones when he’s able to.
Hisui is huge, Jisung has come to notice. He always knew that Sinnoh was big in general, but in a time period where cars, Flying Taxis, trains, and other modern day vehicles don’t exist, the entire region just feels so much bigger. It surrounds him and makes him feel so tiny, like a small blip in the world’s existence. Yet strangely enough, he feels more alive being here than he did back in PDS. It feels like he’s actually doing something with his life, helping the two Clans with their Noble Pokemon and aiding in the research of Pokemon for the region.
Jisung is starting to really enjoy being here, and that’s a little scary.
The Cobalt Coastlands are gorgeous. Jisung loves the smell and the breeze, having missed the ocean so badly. Sunyshore is surrounded by water, despite it still being mostly landlocked, and Jisung’s own home sits steady on a small island rock on the outskirts of the city itself, with two other homes. They had been built tough and steady, able to withstand the ocean’s sprays and huge gusts. They’d been made many years ago, and Jisung wonders if someone had built them out there during this Hisui period…
He feels somewhat homesick, staring out at the ocean. The shape of things is very different from Sinnoh’s layout—most likely due to hundreds of years of weather and various other aspects that shape the land. Jisung doesn’t really know how all of that works. Maybe Groudon had decided to change the actual layout of the land between now and PDS—he’s just taking wild guesses and throws, really. Jisung is most likely wrong, but it’s fun to imagine and take guesses. This area is strangely familiar, because it’s almost like Sunyshore was placed somewhere along the Cobalt Coastlands—Lake Valor isn’t too far away, either, and so it makes Jisung wonder.
Pulling out the Celestica Flute, Jisung stares at it. He’s only used it for Wyrdeer so far, but with approval from Jaemin—another Warden from the Diamond Clan—he is now able to summon the Noble Pokemon Basculegion to help aid in his journey. He’s seen these so-called Basculegion in the distance before and they—well, honestly, they’re pretty terrifying. Even scarier than the Legendary Darkrai, if you ask him. He breathes in deeply, before he plays the flute—soft and melodic, like some kind of gentle breeze washing over Jisung’s entire body.
When he opens his eyes, the giant Noble Pokemon is right in front of him at the edge of the sea. Jisung doesn’t jump this time, but he is still in awe at the sheer size of these Pokemon. It seemed that both Alpha and Noble Pokemon tended to be much, much larger than regular Pokemon—even the ones that are already bigger than humans normally are. They’re giant, and while they’re scary because of this, they’re rather gentle when it comes to humans. So far, aside from the very crazed Nobles that Jisung’s had to help out with, these big Noble Pokemon have been nothing but kind and gentle with Jisung and the other humans. Especially their Wardens.
“Okay, Noble Basculegion…” Jisung smiles some as he shuffles forward, reaching his hands out towards the Pokemon. He touches it, sucking in a breath at the way the Pokemon’s scales feel. It’s an odd sensation—it’s not entirely tangible, but it’s not entirely like a ghost’s body, so Jisung can still touch it and somewhat feel it, but it also sort of feels like if he pushes hard enough, his hands will end up inside of the Basculegion. Weird.
Carefully, Jisung climbs onto Basculegion’s back. It’s slightly awkward and his limbs are a little too long to fit comfortably, knees bent oddly, but Jisung isn’t about to complain about it. He grips onto Basculegion’s little eyebrows as the Pokemon takes off through the water. Now this—this is something Jisung is very much used to. Being in the ocean on the back of a Pokemon, merely bobbing and weaving through the rocks and other wild Pokemon that attempt to chase after them.
He laughs loudly, sitting up straighter on Basculegion’s back as it goes faster, the light spray from the ocean washing over his face and the rest of his body. It’s a lovely feeling, being free out in the ocean like this. It’s a wonder Jisung never became a Swimmer Trainer, considering how much he enjoys being at the beach and being in the water, but he never really enjoyed the idea of devoting his life to the idea of swimming everywhere. He just likes being out here, basking in the sun and playing with the Pokemon.
Basculegion leads him through Tranquility Cove and Lunker’s Liar, and right up to Firespit Island. Jisung stops it before it gets too close to the island, merely watching and observing. He knows this volcano, only for the fact that it somehow closely resembles Stark Mountain in PDS. Only this is an entire island, surrounded by water and rounder in shape, while the Battle Zone in PDS where Stark Mountain is located is like a downward facing crescent shape. Jisung furrows his eyebrows, his thoughts now occupied by a lot of different things.
Basculegion lets out a rumble as it swims up to the edge lifting up as Jisung slips himself off of the Pokemon’s side and lands on the ground with some uncertainty. Standing this close to a relatively active volcano is… daunting. He’s not really a big fan of it.
“Thank you, Noble Basculegion,” Jisung smiles at the Pokemon and runs a hand along the scales, before Basculegion rumbles again and dives down into the water, disappearing.
Jisung turns around to face the rest of Firespit Island. It’s hot, especially with the uniform that he’s wearing. He can’t really help but shed the top of it, letting it hang off behind him as he ties the sleeves around his waist to keep it tight and from falling too far away from him. He tugs his hat off, wiping some sweat from his hairline already.
“Okay, Jisung,” he mumbles to himself, looking around. “You can do this. You’ve handled two frenzied Nobles already, you can definitely handle another…”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Jisung jumps at the sound of someone else’s voice, turning around to face whoever it is that’s talking. It’s another guy, dressed differently than the other Wardens that Jisung’s met—then it registers in his brain that these colours are the same as the outfit Taeyong, leader of the Pearl Clan, wears.
“Oh, you’re…” Jisung pulls his gaze up, looking at the new Warden. “With Taeyong…” His voice trails off, because he’s a little stunned by how cute this guy is. Most of the other people Jisung has met so far have also been cute, but this guy is cute, in a way that stirs up Jisung’s heart, and that’s more scary than the way Jisung is starting to not want to leave this place.
“Yeah,” The Warden reaches up, brushing some bangs out of his face. His hair is blonde, eyes brown and pretty. “My name is Mark. I am Lord Arcanine’s Warden.”
“Arcanine…” Jisung’s eyes go a bit wide. “Oh, no. This might be out of my reach…”
“You’re the new guy, right?” Mark says, his head tilting slightly. “The one who’s been helping the other Wardens with their frenzied Lords and Ladies?”
“Uh, yeah,” Jisung nods slowly, swallowing a bit. “Yeah, that’s me.”
Mark looks him up and down. Jisung feels oddly scrutinized under his gaze, but he supposes that’s par for the course now when it comes to meeting the Wardens and other members of the Diamond and Pearl clans. “You’ve already helped the Diamond Clan with Lady Lilligant, and Chenle told me that you managed to calm the frenzied Lord Kleavor.”
News travels fast, apparently, Jisung thinks to himself, nodding again. “I’m surprised I was able to, honestly—your Nobles are honestly terrifying, I thought Lord Kleavor was going to cut me in half the entire time and Lady Lilligant made me so dizzy—”
A small chuckle comes from Mark. He smiles gently up at Jisung, the corner of his mouth crooked upwards, before it levels out into a more neutral expression once more. “I’m trusting you to do the same for Lord Arcanine. Even the other Growlithe are worried for their noble master… he’s in pain, I know he is, and I can’t stand to see him like this.” The way Mark speaks about Lord Arcanine shows that he truly does care for the Noble Pokemon.
Jisung knows that people and Pokemon can care for each other on intense levels, but somehow, he can’t really remember the last time he’s seen—or heard—someone speaking about their Pokemon so openly and caringly like this. In PDS, Pokemon and people are friends, battle partners, helpers, and more, but the way of life in PDS is so much different than the way of life here in Hisui. The bond between people and Pokemon is intense here—the respect that people have for Pokemon is so much more than any respect that Jisung’s seen in PDS. Somehow, Jisung almost prefers these types of relationships. He likes the idea of being able to befriend Pokemon without having to capture them in Pokeballs, of living side-by-side with Pokemon in a much more literal sense.
Jisung nods firmly this time, standing up straighter as he squares his shoulders back. “I promise, I’ll do my very best to bring Lord Arcanine back to his old self!”
Jisung both fails and succeeds at calming Lord Arcanine.
He fails a few times at first, getting a bit injured and roughed up in the struggle to get Lord Arcanine to calm down. However, through sheer force of willpower and perseverance, Jisung manages to pull through. His entire body aches and he’s exhausted. He can feel the burns forming on his body, even under his clothes, and he kind of wants to sleep for ten thousand years right now.
“Jisung?” He barely reacts to Mark saying his name, merely lifting his right hand from the ground, his eyes closed. Jisung can’t be bothered to open them at the moment. “Jisung, hey. Come on, we have to move you off the island now so we can tend to you and stuff—”
“Just leave me here to die,” Jisung manages to croak out, groaning when he feels Mark attempting to move him from his lying position. “No, seriously, just leave me here—”
“I don’t think you want to stay here, you’ll die of dehydration, Jisung,” Mark laughs lightly as he carefully tugs Jisung into a sitting position.
When Jisung finally opens his eyes and looks up, Mark is smiling down at him. Jisung’s brain sort of short circuits and his mouth sort of moves of its own accord. “You’re like an angel.”
Mark’s eyebrows go up, a look of surprise and confusion twisting onto his face. Jisung feels his entire face flush, his mouth opening and closing, floundering like a Magikarp. “Um. You know what? You can just throw me into the volcano now.”
Neither of them get to say anything else as Lord Arcanine roars, loud but not menacingly. The ground rumbles as Arcanine walks up to them, leaning down and biting the back of Jisung’s uniform top. It lifts Jisung up until he’s on Arcanine’s back, and Jisung just sort of lets himself settle against Arcanine then. He feels someone climb onto the Noble Pokemon behind him—meaning that it’s definitely Mark. Jisung buries his face into Arcanine’s fire, grips around his neck, and kind of hopes he’ll fall off into the sea when they pass over it.
They make it to the mainland of Hisui in a couple of minutes. Arcanine and Mark both help Jisung slide off of the Noble Pokemon with ease, and Arcanine even nudges at his face with its muzzle and licks the side of his head. Jisung manages to smile up at it, reaching a hand up and stroking along the side of Arcanine’s muzzle.
“Thank you, Lord Arcanine.”
Arcanine rumbles in response before it turns to Mark, doing the same gesture. Mark hugs Arcanine’s muzzle and neck, petting it, before the Noble Pokemon shifts away and starts heading back to Firespit Island. Jisung moans softly in pain as he lies back against the beach, throwing an arm over his face.
“Come on, Jisung,” Mark grunts as he pulls Jisung up from the beach, letting Jisung lean most of his weight against him. “Let’s get you to one of the campsites.”
It’s a rather short walk to one of the campsites that Mark mentions. There are a few Survey Corps members there already, who freak out a little at Jisung’s injured state. Mark merely tells them to leave them both alone, and to go let Captain Doyoung know about Jisung’s doings—Mark is kind of cute when he’s irritated, Jisung thinks, but he’s also pretty sure it’s his own stubbornness that might be part of why Mark is irritated at the moment, too. He startled immediately when Mark turns to him inside the tent, as the Survey Corps members leave, and says: “Strip.”
“Wh—I, I mean… huh?”
Mark rolls his eyes, pointing at Jisung’s chest. “Strip, to your underwear. You’ve got burns all over you and I know how to deal with them.”
Jisung blinks rapidly, feeling his cheeks heat up once more. “R–Right…”
Despite his shyness and awkward nature, Jisung does as he’s told. He’s in his underwear in just a few minutes, and Mark has him lying down on the futon as he applies ointments and other medicines to the wounds he’s acquired. Jisung lets his eyes fall shut, breathing in and out steadily, occasionally wincing or flinching when Mark touches a certain burn or area—it’s not Mark’s fault, Jisung’s pain tolerance just isn’t entirely the best. He’s surprised that he actually lasted so long in the first place, but it must have just been all the adrenaline running through his veins during the fight with Lord Arcanine that got him here.
“Thank you for helping,” Mark says after a while. He’s finished dressing Jisung’s wounds now, and Jisung is finally able to re-dress himself in his actual clothes. “Lord Arcanine is much better now, thanks to you. I almost feel a bit useless—there wasn’t anything that I could do to calm him…”
Jisung feels bad. He frowns gently, shaking his head a bit. “You shouldn’t feel bad. I’m sure you did everything that you could to help Lord Arcanine, and I’m sure that he appreciates it a lot. Besides, I’m glad that I’m the one who’s doing all of this for you guys in the first place. It’s so dangerous,” Jisung laughs slightly, a little strained, as he gestures to himself. “I wouldn’t want any of you guys getting hurt like this. You already do so much for your Lords and Ladies—I’m pretty sure they also wouldn’t want you guys getting hurt in the process.”
Mark watches him with somewhat calculating eyes. He sighs a bit and runs a hand through his hair, his lips pursed. “I guess you have some good points. Still… it just sucks, you know? Doing so much for our Lords and Ladies, only to have someone we’ve never met or seen before swoop in and fix everything for us.”
“Yeah, I get it.” Jisung purses his own lips as well, reaching up and rubbing slightly at the side of his neck. “I wouldn’t really be a big fan of myself right now either, if I were in your shoes.” The exhaustion really hits Jisung then. He slowly lowers himself back onto the futon and rolls himself onto his side, grimacing slightly at the numb pain he feels. “You can wake me up in a couple of hours—I really… need to rest.”
Mark looks down at him, his gaze turning much softer and kinder. “Yeah, you should sleep. I’ll wake you up.” Jisung’s eyes close immediately, and he startles just a bit when he feels Mark’s hand gently running through his hair. “Rest well, Jisung.”
Jisung falls asleep quickly, warmth spreading through his entire body.
Have you thought about my question?
Jisung jumps, slapping a hand over his mouth to keep himself from screaming. “Geez—can you at least warn me before you’re going to start talking out of nowhere? What happens if someone comes along and hears, and sees, me talking to a phone? They don’t even know what a phone is! They’ve barely invented the camera!”
I am extremely careful. You didn’t answer me.
“I’ve been busy,” Jisung says, narrowing his eyes at the Arc-Phone. “You know, helping calm frenzied Noble Pokemon and all that. Part of me is assuming that this is all your doing in the first place.”
It is not my doing. This is the work of someone trying to meddle in things they should not meddle in.
“But isn’t that what you are doing? By sending me back in time?”
I have brought you here to help me. It is impossible for me to do this on my own.
Jisung sighs heavily, reaching out to grab the Arc-Phone and push it back into his pocket. “Yeah, I’m sure…”
“Who’re you talking to there, kid?”
Jisung jumps again, letting out a quiet yelp. When he turns and looks, he sees Ten—the traveling merchant of Hisui. (At least, that’s what he calls himself, and Jisung can’t really refute it.) He shakes his head a bit, rather quickly. “Just talking to myself! Hahah…”
Ten smiles, eyes turning to crescents. Jisung feels slightly uneasy, like Ten is trying to study him through his terrible lie—and if he knows that Jisung is lying or not, he’s certainly not going to tell the younger man. “Sounds like a fun time. How’ve you been? I know you’ve been off helping the two Clans with their Lords and Ladies.”
“I’ve been fine,” Jisung manages to smile, reaching up and pointing at the small bandage on his collarbone. “A little roughed up, but not terribly so. I’m still alive and all.”
With a chuckle, Ten reaches out and ruffles the top of Jisung’s hair. “I suppose that’s a good way of looking at it. Say, want to go on a bit of a side quest with me?”
“Side quest…?” Jisung mutters, eyebrows furrowing together.
“Yes. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.” Ten smiles again as he gestures for Jisung to follow him. It’s not that Jisung doesn’t trust Ten (and there is a small part of him that wants to not trust him in the first place), but there’s a very good chance that Ten could also be leading him to something weird. Still, curiosity gets the better of Jisung as he follows Ten’s lead.
He’s led to somewhere extremely secluded, and at this point, Jisung is very sure that Ten might be out to harm him. However, his overactive imagination and mind is shut down when he sees a woman sitting at a table. She’s… sort of strange looking. The way she dresses is extremely different than anyone else throughout Hisui—a nearly all black ensemble, gothic-esque dress and a tilted sun hat atop her head. The flower is purple, and Jisung… doesn’t really recognize it.
“Jisung, this is Miss Boa. She knows everything about any Hisuian legend that you can think of.” This Miss Boa offers Jisung a very gentle smile, almost fragile seeming. One of her eyes is covered by her hair, he notes. “I figured that she might be able to help you throughout your journey, especially if you’ll be dealing with the Diamond and Pearl clans more and more.”
Jisung gives a nod, blinking slowly as he looks Miss Boa up and down. He’s taller than her, though Jisung is starting to suspect that the only person taller than him in Hisui has to be Commander Suh. “Um, nice to meet you, Miss Boa…”
“It’s nice to meet you, as well, Jisung,” Miss Boa says, dipping her head to him slightly. Jisung bows to her fully, arms slightly folded over his stomach. “If you have any questions, or merely feel like hiding away for a period of time, you’re more than welcome here at my humble abode.”
Jisung has a gut feeling that he might definitely need to stay here for a while.
His gut feeling, though he’s usually a mix of being right and wrong, ends up being right. After helping the Pearl Clan with their final frenzied Lord, something goes awry. Jisung is called into the Survey Corps HQ by Commander Suh and Captain Doyoung, only to be questioned intensely and thoroughly. It feels awful, being scrutinized so closely and intently in front of a group of people. Even the Clan leaders, Jaehyun and Taeyong, are there and witnessing what’s happening. The blame for the frenzied Noble Pokemon is falling upon Jisung, and Jisung—well, he can’t exactly refute it.
He’s not supposed to be here, after all, and it’s Arceus’s fault—quite literally—that he’s back here in this day and age to begin with. He had no choice in the matter, but there’s no possible way for Jisung to explain that to them and have them believe him. After all, who would believe some kid that the literal God Pokemon decided one day that, ‘Hey, this kid looks fun to mess with. Let’s throw him back into olden days Hisui and later decide that I need his help with something in the end.’? Absolutely no one would believe Jisung, and Jisung wouldn’t blame them at all.
Jisung is told to leave Jubilife Village after that. He has nowhere to go, considering this has been the only place he’s actually been staying at. It feels awful, being thrown out like this. Captain Doyoung is kind, despite the rather stoic look on his face, and both Professor Kun and Haechan accompany them into the Obsidian Fieldlands. Jisung feels like crying. Both the Professor and Haechan are giving him looks that Jisung can’t really decipher—he’s a bit too distraught at the moment to even try. Even the other Wardens are avoiding him like the plague—it hurts.
“Jisung.” He looks up as someone says his name, and literally, physically winces when he sees that it’s Mark, who’s looking at him with a sad and confused expression. “Where are you going?”
“I…” Jisung doesn’t know how to answer that, because he doesn’t know. There’s nowhere for him to go where he’ll be accepted, not when everyone—the Survey Corps and even the Clans—thinks that he’s the reason for their Lords and Ladies becoming frenzied. There is Miss Boa’s retreat that she offered to him… but Jisung doesn’t know if he should tell Mark about that or not. “I don’t know, honestly.”
Mark watches him, his gaze odd yet warm at the same time. They’re in the outskirts of the Obsidian Fieldlands, near the path that leads to Miss Boa’s retreat. Jisung’s plan is to go there, but he needs to go alone—he shouldn’t be dragging Mark into all this crap to begin with. Jisung just wants to curl up and cry right now. He feels so utterly isolated and alone, even with his Pokemon by his side. He’s so attached to them now—Rowlie and all the others. He doesn’t know what he’ll do when he has to go back home and leave them all behind. And, fuck, he’s going to have to abandon them. Jisung will have to do something he’s promised to never do to begin with. Now he really needs to cry.
The tears start falling without his permission. He curses under his breath as he reaches up, covering his face up with his hand and turning away from Mark. “It’s fine, just—you should go back home, Mark. Please.”
“Jisung…” Mark frowns deeply, eyebrows furrowing slightly. It startles Jisung when he feels Mark hugging him, and he’s struck with the urge to push him away. “I want to help you. Will you let me?”
“But—” Jisung carefully pulls himself away from Mark, rubbing along his eyes and frowning at him. “Everyone else, both of the Clans… none of them are willing to help me. You’ll get in trouble—”
“It’s fine,” Mark looks up at him, a look of determination on his face now. Jisung is so taken aback by Mark’s declaration, utterly confused. “What’s the worst they can do to me? Exile me from the Clan and lose one of their most important Wardens? If they kick me out, Lord Arcanine will raise hell for them.”
Jisung lets out an incredulous laugh, eyes going a bit wide. “Wha… Mark, are you serious?”
“Of course,” Mark’s eyebrows knit together. “I want to help you. I don’t believe that this is really your fault or doing. There’s something else going on here.”
You can say that again, Jisung thinks to himself. He shakes his head a little, before he lets it drop to Mark’s shoulder. Slowly, he wraps his arms back around Mark in a hug, pulling him close, his grip somewhat tight. “Thank you, Mark,” Jisung mumbled, “Really… thank you.”
At Miss Boa’s retreat, Jisung and Mark spend their time together learning and confessing. Well—confessing on Jisung’s end, honestly, about who he is and where he’s from. And the Arc-Phone, too, because Arceus had decided it was a good time to pop out of his quiet shell and introduce itself to Mark.
“Whoa,” Mark stares at the phone with wide eyes, reaching his hand out towards it. “This is… a Pokemon?”
“Well,” Jisung looks at the phone, lips somewhat pursed. “Yes and no? It’s more like my phone, but with a Pokemon possessing it… which isn’t too odd where I come from, but it is really weird that the Pokemon possessing it is Arceus.”
“Arceus,” Mark repeats the name, letting his hand fall back into his lap. He turns to look at Jisung, his eyes wide. “Arceus is even more powerful than the Almighty Sinnoh, isn’t it?”
Jisung shrugs, reaching up to grab the Arc-Phone and stare down at it. “Usually, yeah. Arceus is extremely powerful—it could literally destroy the world and put it back together if it wanted to. We’ve already had to deal with the aftermath of someone trying to do that before…”
“So someone now—in the past, for you—is trying to do the same thing as that person. Right?”
“Yeah,” Jisung nods, looking up at Mark from the Arc-Phone.
Then, the phone lifts up from Jisung’s hand, floating gently from side to side.
With young Jisung’s help here, I will be able to make sure that this villain’s doing will not come to fruition.
“Whoa!” Mark’s eyes go wide the moment Arceus speaks, “Oh Sinnoh, it actually talks.”
Yes, I can speak. Thank you for aiding young Jisung in this time.
“Oh, um, it’s cool,” Mark blinks slowly, rubbing his hand over his wrist a little. “You’re welcome, I guess? I just…” Mark glances up at Jisung, before he turns his head away a bit. “It’s nothing. Happy to be of help.”
Jisung’s not really sure what to think or do in this situation. He lifts his hand as the Arc-Phone floats down and lands in his palm, before he carefully puts it away in his satchel. As if knowing the phone is put away, Miss Boa enters the abode and offers both of them a small smile. Both Mark and Jisung sit on the floor as Miss Boa takes the bed, sitting down in front of them as she starts to tell them about the various legends of the Hisui region.
It’s strange to hear about the Legendaries from an olden perspective. Jisung already knows about so many of the Legendary Pokemon from PDS, but it seems here, in Hisui, the legends are slightly different. Not to mention, there are Legendary Pokemon that are here that have never been in PDS—at least to Jisung’s knowledge of them. If anything, the trio resides in the Unova region—and there certainly was never a fourth, making it a quartet. Hisui is extremely different from PDS, Jisung’s finally come to discern. It may be pretty obvious, in hindsight, but the fact that it’s still so similar, yet so different at the same time always gives Jisung mental whiplash.
“To make the Red Chain, you will need to visit the three lakes and pass the trials of the Legendary Pokemon that reside there.” Miss Boa says, adjusting the hat atop her head.
“The Lake Guardians,” Jisung mumbles, mostly to himself.
Mark looks at him, eyebrow raised slightly. “You know them?”
“Of them,” Jisung nods, “Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit. They guard their lakes and make sure to protect them. Back in my time—in the future—they had been captured and forced to produce the Red Chain for someone.”
“How do you know all of this, Jisung?” Miss Boa asks.
Jisung cringes slightly, having hoped that he would be able to avoid this question. “Ah, well… you see—one of my friends from that time, his name is Sungchan. He was actually the person who stopped Team Galactic from succeeding. So I know everything about it because he told me about it all.”
“So you really did experience all of this,” Mark reaches out for Jisung’s hand and grabs it, squeezing it lightly. Jisung’s ears go warm immediately, squeezing Mark’s hand back gently as he tries to calm his rapidly beating heart.
“It’s like a strange sort of deja vu, being here and being the actual one having to save the world instead of my friend.” Jisung admits, letting out a small sigh. “Not exactly feeling super heroic.”
“Well, we should probably go and get that Red Chain finished as soon as possible,” Mark says, looking at Jisung’s face. There’s a smile on his face, one that’s genuine and makes Jisung’s stomach fill up with butterflies. “What d’you say, hero?”
Jisung shakes his head, letting out a huff of laughter. “I want to say I’m good and I’d rather not, but what choice do we really have here?”
Getting the Red Chain is easier than Jisung had expected it to be, most likely because the Lake Guardians were less hostile than he had originally thought they’d be, as well. He hadn’t really expected them to want to fight, but he hadn’t ruled it out. Legendary Pokemon are always a bit finicky, at least that’s what Sungchan had told him before, but it’s not as though most of them try to cause you problems on purpose. Even now, though Jisung has been arguing with Arceus, he doesn’t actually put a lot of blame on the Pokemon. Perhaps Jisung truly had just been chosen out of random, and in a way, Jisung feels a bit proud of the fact that he was the one that Arceus had chosen.
Now, Jisung is expected to go up to the top of Mount Coronet and finish things once and for all.
He does not know what he’s doing here.
Part of him wants to run away and go into hiding—shove his Arc-Phone into someone else’s hands and go, “Your turn! I’m good!” But Jisung knows that he can’t. He can’t just abandon the Pokemon and the people here. He has to do something.
Even so, Jisung is terrified.
“Hey,” Mark’s voice shatters Jisung’s anxiety bubble. He looks up from the ground to look at Mark, eyes shaking and lower lip trembling. The rest of his body is shaking, too, and as much as Jisung wants to put on a brave face, he’s really not all that brave. He’s only been able to do everything because he’s had help—from Professor Kun and Haechan, from Captain Doyoung and the rest of the Corps, from Jaehyun and Taeyong and their Clans. From Ten and Miss Boa. And most important of all: from Mark, who’s standing right next to him.
“Don’t think so hard, Ji,” Mark reaches up for him and Jisung lets himself go willingly, leaning in until his face is pressed against Mark’s shoulder. “I know you’re scared, but look—I believe in you. And so do many others. You’ve already come so far. And, look at it this way. You were literally chosen by God to do this.”
Jisung laughs, slightly cut off and stifled. “I don’t know if that actually comforts me.”
“But it got you to laugh,” Mark chuckles a bit as he runs a hand through the back of Jisung’s hair. It helps to comfort him just a bit, but he still feels the anxiety and fear coursing through his veins. “I believe in you, Jisung. So don’t psych yourself out about this, okay? I’ll be right here with you, I promise.”
“Mark—” Jisung pulls himself back, frowning, trying to speak, but Mark doesn’t really let him finish.
Instead, there’s a pair of lips on his. Mark’s lips are on his. Jisung’s eyes go wide, his hands fumbling at his sides as his brain plays a very intense game of catch up on what the hell is going on. It’s only when Mark pulls away that Jisung actually registers that Mark just kissed him. Mark smiles at him, obviously amused at Jisung’s flustered nature.
“I…” Jisung flounders again, his face feeling entirely too warm right now.
“You’re really cute when you blush, you know that?” Mark chuckles as Jisung whines, covering his face with his hands. “C’mon now, Ji. We have to go save Hisui, yeah?”
Jisung swallows thickly. He nods, forcing himself to stand up straight as he squares his shoulders backwards. He turns to look up at the sky, the swirling clouds and ripples in space-time causing more intimidation. But Jisung shakes his head a bit, pushes all of his nerves back, and starts heading up the trail leading up to Mount Coronet’s peak.
Jisung doesn’t know what he’s expecting on the journey up, but he’s definitely not expecting to run into the unassuming potato mochi maker, Taeil, showing up and challenging him to a battle. It’s odd—he’s always been so docile and quiet, and yet, he’s intense and harsh in his battle strategies. Jisung doesn’t know where it’s coming from, and he doesn’t understand why Taeil is trying to stop him from doing what he has to in order to save their world. It’s somewhat easy to beat Taeil, though Jisung does end up feeling a bit bad for it afterwards.
“You have to make sure to stop Johnny,” Taeil says, once Jisung’s defeated him. Jisung furrows his eyebrows, gripping slightly at his own wrist. “I don’t know what he’s thinking, charging up there like that… there’s no way any of them will be able to change whatever is happening up there.”
Nodding, Jisung recalls his Zoroark, carefully putting the ball away in his satchel. “I will. I’ll stop Commander Suh, promise.”
And stop Commander Suh, Jisung does.
It’s a bigger struggle to defeat Commander Suh. Jisung’s not surprised, considering that he’s the leader of the Survey Corps for a reason. Strong, stubborn, and somewhat relentless—Commander Suh is brutal in the fight, and at some point, Jisung almost fears that he’ll lose. He does succeed, in the end, and for that, Jisung is rather grateful. When the battle is said and done, Jisung sighs, dropping down to his knees on the ground. All this battling is exhausted, and the adrenaline he’d felt at the beginning is all but gone now. He’s almost running on steam, but Jisung can’t afford to take any breaks—not when he’s so close to the top.
“You…” Commander Suh sighs heavily as he presses a hand to his temple. “You’ve proven yourself well, Jisung. I’m glad we recruited you into the Survey Corps, kid. I’m not sure if we would be here, if not for you. Both the Corps and the Diamond and Pearl Clans owe a lot to you, you know.”
Jisung shakes his head, leaning his weight against Rowlie. Mark is on Jisung’s other side, tending to his Lucario. “You guys don’t owe me anything. I’m not really doing any of this for any kind of glory. I’m doing this because—” Because I have to. Jisung wants to end the sentence at that, but. But he’s not so sure that’s the reason anymore. Jisung doesn’t feel as though he has to do this. Jisung knows that Arceus could absolutely send him back to PDS if Jisung didn’t help them. In fact, he’s fairly certain that the Pokemon could have sent him back this entire time, and just didn’t want to. He’s not sure why Arceus hasn’t sent him back yet, either, but now.
He glances over towards Mark. He watches him for several seconds, before his gaze flicks back up towards Commander Suh. “I’m doing it because I want to. I need to. So I can save our home.”
Commander Suh nods, closing his eyes for a brief moment, before he holds a hand out to Jisung, who takes it and carefully stands up from the ground. Both of them turn towards the rest of the path that leads up to the top of Mount Coronet, the sky now much darker and more menacing than it’s ever been to Jisung.
Jisung doesn’t know how he does it. Everything about the entire situation is confusing and blurs together in his mind. He meets the “Almighty Sinnoh” that Taeyong constantly talks of, the Legendary Palkia, and he also meets the other “Almighty Sinnoh” that Jaehyun constantly talks about, the Legendary Dialga. Fighting with both of them is intense, and a little insane. He manages to capture them both, by some amazing miracle, and Jisung…
Well, he doesn’t really know how he’s supposed to feel about it. He’s exhausted, first and foremost, and that’s really the only thing that’s on his mind right now. His limbs feel like concrete, aching and hard to move, though he’s forcing himself to walk as much as he can.
“Jisung!” Mark throws himself at him, wrapping his arms around Jisung tightly. Jisung winces in pain, only because he’s so exhausted, but he doesn’t dare push him away. “You did it—I knew you could!”
With a tired laugh, Jisung nods, wrapping his own arms back around Mark and squeezing him tightly. He buries his face against Mark’s neck, holding him close. “I did it… I’m so tired. Can we go home now?”
Mark laughs lightly, one of his hands running along Jisung’s upper back. It’s calming and comforting, helping Jisung in starting to relax. “Yeah,” he says softly, pressing a kiss to the back of Jisung’s head. “Yeah, we can go home now.”
Going home is a bit of a journey. Jisung does his best to hang on, especially as the Noble Pokemon help them return to the Cobalt Coastlands. Mark doesn’t live on Firespit Island, but he does live close, in a small cottage in the middle of the Seagrass Haven—a small set of little islands between Veilstone Cape and Firespit Island. It keeps him close enough to Lord Arcanine, and close enough to the regular shore when needed. In the back of Jisung’s mind, it seems so vaguely familiar—it reminds him of his own island home back in Sunyshore.
As soon as they make it back to Mark’s cottage, Jisung can’t help but fall into the bed face-first. He groans in relief, not even bothering in changing into something less gross and hot. He barely registers Mark tugging off his sandals and socks, and Jisung starts to slowly drift off to sleep.
He’s juggled around in the bed as Mark rolls him onto his side, and climbs into the bed with him. Mark tucks himself in under Jisung’s arm and chin, pressing his face against Jisung’s neck. Jisung lets out a content sigh, a tired smile slowly spreading across his face. Slowly, he circles his arms around Mark’s body and holds him tight. Even though he’s exhausted, there’s a part of Jisung’s mind that starts to wonder.
If he falls asleep, will he wake up back in PDS? Will Arceus truly just whisk him away from Hisui, now that everything is said and done with? If that’s the case, then Jisung doesn’t want to sleep at all. He’d rather be kept awake for the rest of his life if it means that he gets to stay here in Hisui, with Rowlie and his Pokemon, continuing to be a member of the Survey Corps. With Mark, who is here in his arms, and most certainly will not be sent back to PDS with Jisung if he goes.
Jisung likes Mark too much to want to suddenly disappear. If he goes back now, Jisung doesn’t think that he’ll ever be able to love someone again. Because—even though it happened suddenly and without warning, Jisung realizes now that he loves Mark. Jisung forces his eyes open, despite the fact that his body is telling him to pass out already. He just can’t bring to do it. Not if he doesn’t know what’s going to happen next. The exhaustion is pulling at him though, a harsh headache now pounding at the front of his skull.
Surprisingly, when the Arc-Phone appears in front of Jisung, over Mark’s shoulder, he doesn’t jump. He’s become used to this, and Jisung is actually a little relieved to see it.
Have you thought about my question?
Arceus’s voice is low, quiet. It’s… soothing, almost. It makes Jisung’s eyes flutter.
“Yeah,” Jisung mutters, nodding slightly. “Yeah… I’ve thought about it.”
And what is your answer, young Jisung?
“Don’t…” Jisung yawns, wide and loud, his eyes slowly closing. He can’t bring himself to open them back up, the exhaustion and soreness finally overtaking him. Please don’t send me back, Jisung wants to say. He hopes that Arceus knows what he was going to say.
He hopes that Arceus will be merciful to him, and heed his one and only wish.
The alarm starts blaring in Jisung’s ear.
It’s such a familiar sensation that Jisung shoots up in bed, still half-asleep despite the way his eyes are wide open. He reaches around frantically for his phone, until he grabs a hold of it and keeps it tightly within his grip. His eyes are closed, because he refuses to open them yet. He stretches his fingers, to feel the edges of the phone, and that’s when they bump into something.
Then, Jisung slowly opens his eyes.
His phone is still the Arc-Phone.
When he lifts his head, the room around him is still the one of Mark’s cottage. When Jisung looks down and to his side, he sees Mark, who is currently half-awake and rubbing at his eyes with a palm.
“J’sung…?” The name slurs together in Mark’s sleepiness, and Jisung is so endeared by it.
Jisung smiles brightly as he shifts himself over Mark, leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to the other’s lips. Mark laughs tiredly, the noise soft and warm to Jisung’s ears. There’s more laughter and giggles from the two of them as Jisung continues pressing kisses to the side of Mark’s face, curling himself around Mark and trapping him against the bed. (Not that Mark seems to have any complaints about it, though.)
Eventually, Mark falls back asleep, and Jisung settles himself behind him, in a comfortable position for spooning. Jisung feels another wave of tiredness wash over him, not even sure about what time or day it is—he’s not particularly concerned about it, as he lets his eyes flutter shut. As he falls asleep, he hears a voice in the back of his mind:
Thank you, young Jisung. Be happy.